Anyone
reading articles like this has seen his
or her share of homebuilt airplanes by
now. If you think back to the early
examples youve inspected, you may
recall how initially you were intrigued
that aircraft could actually be built in
someones garage or hangar. After
getting used to the idea, you could pick
apart and even be critical of projects
that were a little sloppy or had that
not quite finished
appearance. They looked amateur built.
Cessna, Beechcraft and Piper products had
the professional market cornered.The
instruments were matched and new, the
upholstery and paint perfect, and all the
lights, bells and whistles fit. They were
not just add-ons

Occasionally
an immaculate, well equipped example of a
homebuilt kitplane comes along, and the
production models take a back seat. Such
was the case when John Richardson of
Kamloops, British Columbia, rolled his
Turbo Pelican out of the hangar in
November of 2003. Hes a
perfectionist when it comes to details in
his projects. Although this is his first
full-size airplane, Johns interest
in building began several years earlier
with models. After completing and
customizing a few which required the
production of all the inner parts, ribs,
spars, stabilizers and coverings, he
thought what could be so hard about
simply scaling up and building a full
size model ?

It was in
the late 1990s when he researched
designs, with primary consideration for
fuel economy, side by side seating, and
the freedom to customize and finish the
aircraft to his own likings. John
chose the Pelican with the Rotax 914
engine and constant speed prop. The
advantages of economy, good speed and
performance, the seating arrangement, and
the fact there was a Rotax dealer in
Vernon, just 60 miles away, all figured
in the decision. Some of the
component work was completed at the
Ultravia factory in Quebec. John
states that the wings were quite simple
and straight forward. Much of the non
structural details and finishing are left
for the builder. A creative mind is
required. Some of the credit in
that department goes to Rick West,
another Kamloops pilot with plenty of
advice and hands-on building
experience. His assistance was
extremely helpful in the last six months
of the building process.

John will
admit to six figures when discussing the
final cost. A large portion of that
involved all the electrical work which
was done by Inland Communications of
Kamloops. It sounds high for a two
place homebuilt, but much of it is
wrapped up in the instrumentation, the
engine and turbo monitoring devices,
radios, prop and superb finishing.
Hes worked out some cooling
problems that seem to plague many
homebuilt airplanes, and now regularly
flies above 10,000 feet (theres an
on board oxygen system) with ease and
comfort. Its a smooth ride,
such as a passenger in a Dash 8 would get
with a big turbine engine out front.

It took
almost four years working bankers
hours to complete the aircraft. In
February of 2003, it looked virtually
complete and visitors would remark that
the inaugural flight appeared mere weeks
away. John privately figured on
late spring. In actual fact the
maiden flight didnt occur until the
end of November that year. The last ten
percent seems to take ninety percent of
the time. His approach throughout
the project was to set goals to complete
one small component or part each
day. He always set the standards
for the daily goal at a very low level so
there was every chance it would be
achieved. Every day then became a
success, and anything accomplished
over-and-above that was a bonus. He
says that if youre constantly
thinking of the completed airplane,
youll just be overwhelmed and
discouraged much too often.

This is one
homebuilt that is definitely worth a
look. John can be contacted by e-mail j_richardson100@hotmail.com
State PELICAN as your subject.